8th Aug

There was another small arrival of migrants overnight with 35 Willow Warblers, ten Reed Warblers and a Garden Warbler of interest. Overhead passage was limited to five Ringed Plovers, nine Redshanks, a Hobby and eight Yellow Wagtails. The sea was very quiet except for four Mediterranean Gulls and two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls feeding at the fishing boats.

Two Porpoises were feeding offshore.

A Willow Emerald Damselfly was seen in the Trapping Area and seven Small Red-eyed Damselflies were seen at the southern end of the Long Pits. A nymph Rhomboid Shieldbug was also caught in the trapping area.

Rhomboid Shieldbug Syromastes rhombeus   nymph   Dungeness   8th August 2022

7th Aug

There was another decent little arrival of migrants in the bushes with 50 Willow Warblers, 12 Reed Warblers and two Garden Warblers of note and 200 Sand Martins flew through.

There were six Mediterranean Gulls and a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull feeding offshore.

Six Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

6th Aug

Migrants continue to arrive on the land with a Grasshopper Warbler, two Garden Warblers and 80 Willow Warblers of note. 

There was some passage of waders overhead including six Lapwings, eight Ringed Plovers and two Redshanks and two Mediterranean Gulls were feeding offshore.

A Grey Seal and four Porpoises were feeding offshore.

A Mediterranean Stick-insect was seen in the Observatory garden and three Large Cone-heads were singing in the Trapping Area.

5th Aug

There were a few migrants including 40 Willow Warblers in the bushes but mist netting was limited by windy conditions and a total of 550 Sand Martins passed through during the day.

There was a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull and eight Mediterranean Gulls offshore and single Arctic Skua and Great Skua were chasing the handful of Sandwich Terns offshore

Six Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore.

A Willow Emerald damselfly was seen in the Trapping Area and a Southern Oak Bush-cricket was caught in one of the moth traps..  

4th Aug

Today saw the first decent drop of migrants into the bushes with 125 Willow Warblers, an excellent 22 Sedge Warblers and a Garden Warbler of note. Birds passing overhead included a Golden Plover, 350 Sand Martins and 16 Yellow Wagtails. Three juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls were seen on the beach.

A pair of Kestrels have nested in the area. Their first attempt was on a window-ledge at the Old Lighthouse where eggs were laid but they quickly failed. They then moved to the electricity pylon between the Observatory and Power Station, taking over a crow's nest, and quickly tried again. There are now five young and all are very close to fledging. One individual actually made its virgin flight this afternoon.

Kestrel Falco tinnunculus   nest with young about to fledge   Dungeness   4th August 2022

Six Porpoises were feeding offshore and a Badger was seen in the Trapping Area.

A Brimstone butterfly was seen on the Point and a Lesser Emperor dragonfly was seen on the northern Long Pit again.

3rd Aug

Three Mediterranean Gulls and three juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls were seen offshore along with the first juvenile Arctic Tern of the autumn. It was very quiet on the land.

Two Grey Seals and a Porpoise were feeding offshore.

An Antler was the highlight from the moth traps.

Antler Cerapteryx  graminis   Dungeness   3rd August 2022

However, the insect highlight came with finding of an Ant-lion Euroleon nostras in the trapping area - only the second Observatory recording area record

Ant-lion Euroleon nostras   Dungeness    3rd August 2022

The evening search for the rarer orthoptera produced five Large Cone-heads and three Mediterranean Stick-insects were seen in the Observatory garden. of note, one of the cone-heads was of the rarely seen brown morph.

Large Cone-head Ruspolia nitidula   Dungeness   3rd August 2022

Large Cone-head Ruspolia nitidula brown morph male   Dungeness   3rd August 2022

Mediterranean Stick-insect Bacillus rossius   Dungeness   3rd August 2022

2nd Aug

A strong SW wind was blowing and with more heavy cloud the result was an increase in birds passing offshore with 145 Gannets, a Sanderling, a Snipe, 21 Kittiwakes, 81 Common Terns and the surprise of the day in the form of a Black Guillemot (the eighth Observatory record) which flew in and landed on the sea for a minute or so before it dived and was not relocated. The juvenile Caspian Gull and five juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls gave brilliant views at the fishing boats. 

Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans   juvenile   Dungeness   2nd August 2022

Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis   Juvenile   Dungeness   2nd August 2022

A Common Seal and two Porpoises were also feeding offshore.

A Jersey Tiger and seven Hummingbird Hawkmoths were seen during the day.

Another night-time check for orthoptera produced eight Large Coneheads and ten Sickle-bearing Bush-crickets and three Mediterranean Stick-insects were found in the Observatory garden.

Large Conehead Ruspolia nitidula   male   Dungeness   2nd August 2022

1st Aug

Heavy cloud and a fresh SW breeze brought a small arrival of migrants on the land with 15 Willow Warblers, a Sedge Warbler, 15 Reed Warblers and a Garden Warbler of note while 800 Sand Martins gathered at the Point in the afternoon. A Marsh Harrier, two Buzzards and eight Yellow Wagtails also passed overhead. The colour-ringed juvenile Caspian Gull and four juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls were feeding at the fishing boats.

Three Porpoises and a Grey Seal  were feeding offshore and a Badger visited the garden in the evening.

The moth traps were very quiet but six Hummingbird Hawkmoths, three Jersey Tigers and amazingly our seventh Dark Crimson Underwing of the year were seen during the day.

Dark Crimson Underwing Catocala sponsa   Dungeness   1st August 2022

An evening survey for orthoptera produced eight Large Coneheads, two Sickle-bearing Bush-crickets, a loud chorus of Tree Crickets and a Southern Oak Bush-cricket. In addition a Mediterranean Stick-insect was seen in the Observatory garden. 

31st July

Very quiet on both the land and at sea although the colour-ringed (X37V) juvenile Caspian Gull was feeding at the fishing boats along with three Yellow-legged Gulls and 14 juvenile Mediterranean Gulls flew west..

Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

30th July

A Garden Warbler, a Sedge Warbler and five Reed Warblers were seen in the Trapping Area while 100 Sand Martins, ten Swallows, five Yellow Wagtails and a Grey Wagtail flew over. Three Mediterranean Gulls and two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls were seen at the fishing boats.

Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were feeding offshore.

The moth traps were fairly quiet but they did produce a Channel Islands Pug and a Jersey Tiger. Three adult Mediterranean Stick-insects were found in the Observatory garden after dark and the Tree Cricket numbers are increasing with their "chorus" audible from the Observatory. in the calm conditions.